Marble Design Ideas for Your Master Bath

Longing to use marble in your master bath? We understand why. You appreciate the look of luxury this stone brings to any design style from cottage to contemporary. You treasure the patina that marble develops over time, since it’s softer and more porous than granite. And you’re ready to take advantage of this stone’s versatility, since it can be polished, honed, flamed, tumbled, and more to fulfill your vision. So check out our favorite master baths, guest baths, and powder rooms with marble surfaces—and gather ideas for your own project.

Intricately detailed and sublimely beautiful, this Calacatta marble mosaic-tile rug is set into a floor comprised of rectangular marble tiles. The rug, which defines an area in front of a shapely soaking tub, echoes the design of a similar tile mural showcased within the steam shower (not shown).

Inspired by a downtown apartment’s view of the horizon, real estate agent Ginger Bonneau imbued the home’s master bath with linear features that suggest the serenity of a landscape. Among them is a pair of floating vanities topped with matching vessel sinks and Carrara marble countertops. The sleek set-up is silhouetted against a wall sheathed in thin strips of muted gray and cream Carrara marble tile, which are “just stunning,” she says. “They reminded me of the horizon line visible from the window.” See more of this bathroom on the next slide.

By dividing the serene space with a partial wall, designer Ginger Bonneau was able to create a somewhat private niche for a makeup station. A sleek, simple slab of Carrara marble serves as the cosmetics counter. Oversize Carrara marble floor tiles create a seemingly translucent surface underfoot. “Using large 24x24-inch tiles makes the look seamless, simple, and clean so the tiles don’t distract from the view,” Bonneau says.

Designed by Phoebe Howard, this master bath’s walls are clad in Blue Celeste marble tiles as part of her mission to create a house with a calming feel. The pattern of the Lee Jofa fabric on the chair echoes the curves in a mosaic-tile floor border with Calacatta Gold field tile and accents of Blue Celeste. “A beautiful mood is set by the blue marble-tile walls combined with a mosaic floor that shimmers and sparkles in every sort of light,” Howard says.

Designer Elizabeth Elliott worked with architect Chris Brandon and builder Andrew Patterson to design this marble-clad master bath in Newport Beach, California. Among the room’s classic features is a stunning wall of statuary marble tile that emphasizes the room’s vaulted ceiling. A marble-mosaic floor provides opulence underfoot. “The details are simple but luxurious,” Elliott says. “They make the room feel that no expense has been spared, no detail overlooked.”

An exuberant bath designed by Kelley Proxmire brings femininity to a whole new level with its polished pink-and-white palette. The room-spanning curved vanity (lots of room for grooming gear!) is topped in an elegant marble slab with beveled edges. Shaded sconces are mounted directly to a mirror that stretches the length of the vanity.

French antiques and fabulous fabrics are just two of the features that interior designer Megan Winters used to transform a builder’s spec house into a home rich with character. The master bath already wore polished statuary marble flooring, an elegant start to this memorable room. Winters added gilded étagères, gilt benches from France, custom gilt mirrors, and an antique crystal chandelier for in-your-face opulence. The navy-and-white Roman shades feature “Slendang” fabric from Nobilis.

Or marble, that is. Inside this renovated master bath, a supersize tub wrapped in honed Calcutta marble seems to float atop a matching marble floor. “We used large [floor] tiles because the room is so big,” says designer/homeowner Bob Williams, noting that small tiles would have made the room feel busy. A mosaic tile border surrounding the tub adds an intriguing dose of pattern to the decorative mix. See another room detail on the next slide.

One of two, a traditional-style vanity offers the look of fine furniture with its beaded full-inset doors, faux feet, and shapely marble top. Behind the vanity, honed Calcutta marble wainscoting echoes the dramatic veining seen in the marble floor tiles. Soft blue paint (Palladian Blue from Benjamin Moore) offers the only real hue in the room. “We tried to keep the interior somewhat reflective of the period of [our 1947 Colonial], keeping to traditional roots while making it fresh and modern,” says designer/homeowner Bob Williams.

To disguise the newness of the French Country home she and her husband, Kevin, built in Houston, designer/homeowner Anita Joyce furnished rooms with salvaged materials and found treasures turned into interesting décor. Even the powder room showcases her design passion. Silhouetted against soft gray walls, a marble sink, countertop, and backsplash rest on top of a distressed-wood vanity to mimic the look of an old-world wash basin. “I like that things in French homes tend to be authentically old...,” she says. “And that’s what I try to find for my own house: the real things, the old things.”

Part of a serene sinkscape, this marble-tile mosaic backsplash is designed with marble tiles—seen here in a Salt Mix colorway—from the Modern Urban Design collection (MUD) designed by Catherine Braconnier for Stone Source. Sleek contemporary faucets, a long rectangular trough sink, and a narrow stone display shelf enhance the horizontal lines and peaceful spa-like ambience of the room. “The uncluttered, Zen atmosphere is even better than I imagined,” says homeowner Richard Perng.

Light, bright, and luxurious. That’s the personality of a Seattle master bath that showcases one of Mother Nature’s most beautiful materials: honed white Calacatta Gold marble. Designer Susan Marinello directed her contractors to install pieces with veins flowing together in a single direction, so it looks “less choppy and frenetic. “You can maintain honed marble much easier than polished because stains can just be buffed out,” Marinello says. “And since it’s more porous, honed marble also acquires a wonderfully worn patina over time.” BTW: Marinello used dark Nero Marquina marble trim to define various areas of the bath—such as the tub, vanity, and shower. See how the trim looks in the shower on the next slide.

Like most of the master bath, the steam shower—including the bench—is clad in richly veined Calacatta Gold marble tile. Designer Susan Marinello says that large expanses of marble can feel cold and mausoleumlike, so she uses floor trim “like a rug” that defines zones.

Part of an Atlanta Symphony Showhouse, this master bath by Matthew Quinn and Clay Snider is grounded in Calacatta Gold Extra marble floor tiles arranged in an oversize herringbone pattern. Along with a crystal-and-brass chandelier, the patterned floor adds drama that is totally in step with the Italian baroque architecture of the 1920s house. In addition to the drapes, color comes in the form of pink-toned Breccia Aurora marble columns on either side of the tub and decorative tile panels in the shower.

This spacious, spa-like master bath boasts two white Carrara marble table tops above console table legs with integrated towel bars—from the Inigo Collection by Michael S Smith for Kallista. A sleek neutral backdrop—"Wood Impressions" tiles from Crossville in Barnwood Grey on the walls and Black Walnut on the floors—keeps the marble sinkscapes at the forefront. See a powder room from the same showhouse (but different designers) on the next slide.

Once a mudroom, this powder room shows what a thoughtful update can do. Designed by Barbara Barry for Kallista, a petite basin and faucet are inset into an angled marble countertop that makes the most of the room’s size. AKDO provided the floor-to-ceiling mosaic tile wall: Radiance Mosaic in Carrara Bella marble with Pearl Gray marble microchips. A mercury-glass star pendant and moody painting both reflect beautifully in the frameless mirror.

Simple but commanding, a white soaking tub lends its gravitas to a focal-point bathing area in this master bath. A marble half-wall separates the tub area from the glass-wall shower. The dramatic shower wall is crafted from heavily veined Calacatta Gold marble cut into 3x6-inch rectangles and hexagon tiles. Polished nickel faucets and showerheads gleam against their stone backdrops. The flooring is reclaimed oak. See a marble detail on the next slide.

Part of a blissfully serene master suite, this bath features a subdued color palette of taupes and beiges that calls upon texture and pattern to add interest. Among the solutions: Designer Gerald Pomeroy installed wainscoting that includes both polished and honed shapes of Calacatta and Calacatta Gold marble tile beneath the chair railing. “We wanted a space that’s very calming,” says homeowner Catherine Walkey. “But, in all those neutral colors, there’s a lot of gold.” The metallic wallcovering above the tile wainscoting is Maya Romanoff’s “Abacadazzle.”

Although other rooms in this Atlanta home sport deep vibrant colors, the master bath is clean, bright, and white. Intrigue comes in the form of a focal-point tub wearing a laser-cut marble-and-glass mosaic surround. The shower walls and flooring are crafted from Calcutta Gold marble.

Designer Monique Gibson chose a soothing neutral palette for her client’s penthouse apartment, since it offers a stunning view of Charleston, South Carolina. Even the master bathroom’s colors act as a backdrop to the vista, since the room is blessed with 12 windows. Gibson lined the walk-in shower with taupe-and-gray Winter Cloud marble tiles that read as one continuous piece of stone. That’s because builder James Meadors cut large slabs of the marble into smaller pieces, then carefully reassembled the tiles to keep the veining consistent. The shower floor is covered with the same stone installed in a harlequin pattern.

Red-and-yellow Palladio wallpaper from Cowtan & Tout makes a vibrant backdrop to this powder room’s dramatic Verde-marble backsplash. The elegant sinkscape also includes a gilded swan faucet by P.E. Guerin, a Louis XVI-style mirror (showing the reflection of a 19th-century English portrait), and an 18th-century cast-bronze sconce from France. “I mix anything and everything,” says designer Susanne Csongor. “I respond to the form, shape, and beauty of it.”

“The home is light and airy, but it has a sense of age and timelessness,” says interior designer Pat Hasbrook, who worked with the owners to create a new residence with a European soul. Toward that end, Hasbrook used Carrara marble throughout the master bath to satisfy the owners’ desire for classic, bright white finishes—including the tub deck, vanity, and wainscoting.

When Dan Kline and Marie Logothetis remodeled their 1880s Italianate home, they decided to infuse the new modernized interiors with touches of Victorian elegance. In the master bath, those vintage-style touches include a shapely marble vanity with polished-nickel fittings, twin oval mirrors, 18-inch-square marble floor tiles, and deep base molding.

This oversize, glass-enclosed shower (which connects two private bathroom suites) boasts a single slab of dramatically veined Calacatta marble as its floor. Another upscale touch for this showhouse space: Micro-mosaic Calacatta Borgini marble tiles used on the shower’s walls that shimmer “almost like diamonds” when wet, according to designer Patricia Georgio. Along with the shared shower, the private suites are visually united by the use of white Thassos marble flooring and Calacatta marble countertops for both vanities. “Everybody wants a bright bathroom with a lot of light,” Georgio says. “And the marble ... helps accomplish that.”

Are you lusting after the Italian-marble tiles that cover this bathroom wall? Or simply staring at the high-contrast color palette? Either way, click on the link below to see our most beautiful black-and-white bathrooms.